Russia Grins and Russia Bears
by LarkspurWhispers
Summary: Russia's boss continues to speak, but the nation hears not a word. Soviet Union time period under Joseph Stalin. One shot.


**Summary:** Russia's boss continues to speak, but the nation hears not a word. Soviet Union time period under Joseph Stalin. One shot.

**Author's Note:** For those of you who would like a mini history lesson, it's at the end along with translations. Also, Russia isn't really my favorite character. I just like history. And rambling.

**Disclaimer:** Hetalia is not owned by me. If it was… mwahaha! :D

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Joseph Stalin loved the world "totalitarian." He was the master of a nation, not with mere authoritarianism or militarism. He was an extreme man, so he went to the extremes. It was in totalitarianism, where the state- his state- had total authority over all aspects of the society, that Stalin was able to reach his fingers throughout the cold land and collect it all in the palm of his hand. The ambitious man was the unquestioned dictator, the "Great Architect of Communism," a man of steel words. His name came from "stal" from the Russian word for steel and "Lenin," his predecessor and former leader of the Communist Party. He and his allies controlled everything at their seat of power in Moscow, from the government decisions throughout the U.S.S.R. to the economic policies to the personification of the nation itself. The man inherited a living breathing beast. One that was seated at an important position at the long conference table, his head in his hands and ash-blonde grayish hair shielding his eyes.

"_Советский Союз_." It was a firm statement, not a question that came from Stalin's mouth to get the nation's attention. The Soviet Union straightened at his given name, and his gaze back to the head of the table revealed hazy purple eyes with red rimmed around white due to lack of sleep. Dark bags also marred the pale skin and a number of wrinkles formed where there was usually smooth skin. He bore no smile, whether innocent or malicious, on his face for it was replaced by a weary frown. The rest of the audience, which consisted of Stalin's closet allies (no Old Bolsheviks in sight because of those heinous Great Purges), immediately stopped their note-taking and looked to stare at their nation.

"_Da_?" He answered and secretly wished that his boss would just call him Ivan, Mr. Braginsky, or even Russia was fine. He wasn't sure he liked his current name, but maybe it was just the tone always used that made it to his dislike.

"Were you listening to a single thing I said?" Stalin scolded in sharp Russian. "Does the future of your nation mean nothing to you?! You need to pay attention to the plans I have for you for our rise to power on the world's stage." Russia nodded respectfully and gave his boss the full undivided attention through his eyes. His ears, though, were a different matter. They were too full of screams and moans to hear clearly anyways. Joseph Stalin continued on without a second glance to the sitting nation.

Russia had heard this speech a countless number of times. The situation changed, as did the audience, but the core values of Stalin's oratory remained constant. He would advocate "Socialism in One Country," the rapid industrialization that would save the nation's "backwardness," the collectivization of farms and creation of _kolkhozy_, and the magnificent rise of the Soviet Union as a world power. He would mention how their army showed their strength during World War II, annihilating the German 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad and allowing the Allies a major turning point in the war against the Axis powers. Then Stalin would praise the central role of the worker and the citizen, proudly branding his regime as a worker's state. He would list off other successful endeavors that helped the Soviet Union survive in a hostile barn of capitalist pigs. Then with a flourish, he would enter into the aspiration and goals section of his speech. Now they needed to build up power within, to strengthen their interior to the point that they would be invincible in the face of those western and Asian powers. The Soviet Union led by Stalin had everything to prove.

Unfortunately his boss seemed to be deaf to the voices of the rural people, even though Russia could clearly hear their suffering wails reverberating in his ears. Yes, the pale nation understood that the socialist dictator was doing this for his own good, and maybe the harsh changes implemented would pay off in the end. However, Stalin only saw the goal, the end result of success and glory. There was no tolerance for those who stood in his way, whether they were non-communists or the slightly richer peasants that refused to give up their land for the state. He justified the relocation and genocide of the _kulaks_ for progress, the famines of 1932 to 1933 as merely a means to an end. Of course Stalin doesn't see the toll it takes on the nation and the living personification. It was an internal struggle, but physical manifestation of the hidden anguish was starting to show through Russia's child-like smile.

At the moment, he just had to grin and bear it.

Stalin continued on, his mustache quivering with the passion in his words. After a moment, the exhausted nation scoffed under his breath and shook his head at the absurdity of his situation. All of the struggles he went through in the past decades came over him in an instant, the desperateness of his position more intense than ever. His thoughts turned bitter.

Bear what? How can one possibly bear the excruciating pain of a million people starving from months without proper food, their cries unheard by those clustered in the grand capitol in Moscow with their noses held so high that their ears tag along and are unable to hear anything from below. How could he when his entire body tingled and burned and convulsed at the same time with the pain of his people's suffering sending wave upon wave of extreme feeling on his already raw nerves. He felt it eating away at his stomach, in his gut, in his beating heart, some angry concoction boiling in their souls in his soul, but the bodies too weak from starvation to carry out what they want. Instead it remained in his being, stirring, corroding his insides, but he can't do anything about it, can't defy his new boss. It was his duty as a nation; he was bound by a multitude of complex chains in the way a discarded marionette can move around, but is always held back by some connections to an invisible master. The will of the Russian people is his doing, and it seems as if a single man, that Joseph Stalin, has taken the reigns and was leading the rest of the herd to be enslaved in his ambition to bring the U.S.S.R. to a height it had never seen before. Yet the personification was just so frustrated that he couldn't do anything, for orders were orders, and orders he must follow even though he's endangering his health. Even though every passing minute a last breath is breathed and he could feel it, a pinprick of discomfort that intensified and escalated as another accompanies it, and another, and another. He felt the agony of his people as his own, a huge weight on his shoulders and chest and gut and mind.

Bear it, yes, he will try his best.

The grinning he can manage. There is nothing difficult in putting on a smile, and with hundreds of years of practice Russia considered himself quite the expert.

But under his smiling mask of ice he felt as though he was cracking from the mental and national stress, if that would be what one would call it. There was something, surging and gnawing away at his coherent thought. It was something that only used to nibble away at his sanity, but now it was tearing out huge chunks with razor sharp teeth. He worried about the colossal damage it could do, knowing that when he isn't in his right mind he can do some terrible, unspeakable things. Russia was never originally a cruel person, and he likes to think he was born like humans: with the equal capacity to do both good and bad. But experiencing life sure does change a person, especially if he has lived through countless generations. The joy of human existence and their rollercoaster ups and downs is that the ride will eventually end. The mortal's experience is one much like those Russian Mountains that were built in the seventeenth century. One might step out winded or thrilled or nauseated or terrified or exhilarated or satisfied or maybe all of the above. But the most important thing is that they emerged, their ride ended and they can find some rest.

There is no end for nations, no voice through the filters reminding riders to "remove your safety belts" and "please exit safely to the left." The ride goes on for an unforeseeable future until the sturucture itself breaks down, even when those turns and loop-the-loops have made one throw up again and again until there was nothing left.

Russia sure felt quite empty right now.

"Grin and bear it," he whispered inaudibly, slight puffs of air with the words barely shaping them. His eyes were unfocused, seeing the horrors known only in the back of his mind and the fields of the poor.

Stalin's interrupted his speech and snapped with a knifelike tone at Russia, "What was that? Speak up _Советский Союз_."

The aforementioned nation eyed his boss with an expression never seen before on his face: sheer and utter hopelessness. There was nothing he could to to ease the suffering of the peasants, the pain his body feels going through the industrialization process. Stalin was unable to read the extent of his country's pain, so he continued to stare him down impatiently waiting for an answer. As soon as the look appeared on Russia's face, it was gone in an instant. The Soviet Union, reminded of his given name, merely shook his head and apologized. He swallowed the pain and allowed a smile to grace his features.

Grin and bear it, at least for now.

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**Translations and Mini History Lesson:**

_Советский Союз_ - Soviet Union

_da_ - yes

_kolkhozy_- collective farms

_kulaks_ – socio-economic class of better off peasants that were targeted by Stalin as opposition to his plan for collectivization. This resulted in the arrests, deportations, and execution of millions. It was truly a class genocide

Russian Mountains – hills of ice built with wooden support beams in Russia in the 17th century, thought to be the oldest form of a roller coaster.

Joseph Stalin consolidated power after the death of V.I. Lenin, the leader of Bolshevik Party that executed a coup d'état in 1917 known as the October Revolution. Stalin took a backseat role during the revolution (ya know, just cruising along the tidal wave of change), but later made his way towards the top. The "Great Turn" towards socialism took place in the late 1920s. (Can you just imagine Stalin as Russia's new boss making him turn in circles? I imagine a kind of piñata scene with poor Russia blindfolded to the whims of his new boss).

Stalin established a strict dictatorship in the USSR in 1926 and seemed to do anything in his power to remain in that position. In the late 1930s he ordered the execution of many "Old Bolsheviks" he saw as competitors, and these were called the Great Purges. Stalin's top-down governance and forced collectivization allowed the Soviet Union to experience economic growth that lessened the impacts of the Great Depression. He also pushed the nation to go through an industrial revolution in the span of 5ish 10ish years, while other areas often took decades to industrialize. (For some reason, I get an image of Russia with braces at this moment.) The current views of Stalin's regime remain mixed in the modern Russian Federation and in other former Soviet states.

I hope I portrayed Joseph Stalin and Russia alright. I apologize if I offended anyone. Please correct me on any historical info and typos :)


End file.
